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Vipula
Prasanna's killer gets short sentence Michael John-Charles who pleaded to the lesser charge of manslaughter is likely to be free by September next year since his sentence was suspended by half and he has been in custody for around three months. Prasanna (40) of Sudbury whose death in May made news, was assaulted after he had accidentally trod on the foot of John Charles's son while trying to pass through the turnstile at the Wembley tube station. Though witnesses said that Prasanna did not show any belligerence and appeared to be apologetic for the accident, John- Charles had hit him on the jaw. The blow itself was not fatal but as a result of it Prasanna fell and hit his head on the concrete pavement. He suffered injuries to his head and had to be rushed to hospital where he died three days later. John-Charles had later surrendered to the police after seeing his photograph on a police notice. The assailant's conviction came in a rather random manner, as random as the incident that led to the death of Vipula Prasanna who was due to return to Sri Lanka some weeks later. The night before John-Charles gave his plea, the judge Michael Hyam who was scheduled to hear the case at the Old Bailey and decide on the sentence, suffered a heart attack and died, according to The Guardian newspaper. While colleagues in the Old Bailey crowded Court Number Four to pay their respects to the deceased, John-Charles's defence lawyer announced that he would plead guilty to manslaughter. Judge Giles Forrester who sentenced the accused said :"There was a trivial matter involving your son and Mr. Prasanna who was a complete stranger to you........But instead of putting the matter to one side, as any sensible person would have, you lost your temper. You swore at him, you were aggressive and hostile and you threatened him. Mr. Prasanna, on the preponderance of the evidence, was quite blameless." |
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